Windfish's waking
by JupiterGodess
Summary: One final song echoes across the waves. One final ballad. Hark, the sleeper is waking. (Marin's p.o.v. of the moment the Windfish wakes and Coholint fades.)


**Windfish's waking**

The sun shone brightly down on Coholint and dosed the island in warm light. The sky it was hanging on was a magnificent blue, with only a couple of stray clouds here and there.

Marin stood at her usual spot, next to the Flying Cucoos memorial on the large plaza of Mabe village and did what she did often and liked doing: Sing. Some children were playing and enjoying her songs a few meters away. Some other people had come to listen to her too. The small village was as peaceful as ever.

Today, she sang the Ballad of the Windfish more often than usual. The song that had been her favourite since she had learned it from her mother as a small child. But that was not the only reason she sang it so often today. It was also a prayer of sorts.

A prayer for Link.

In her thoughts, she wasn't on the plaza, but with the blonde stranger. In order to free the island from the monsters which had appeared to do their misdeeds with the inhabitants, he had braved eight monster-infested dungeons to retrieve the instruments able to wake the Windfish.

Just a few hours ago, in the morning, they had bid each other farewell. Perhaps for the final time. Link had gone on his way to the egg atop Mt. Tamaranch. The time had finally come to wake up the Wind Fish. That mysterious guardian of Coholint island. Nobody knew if he actually was inside that titanic egg. Nor did anyone know what might happen if he woke up from the slumber he was supposed to be in. But apparently, it was the only way for Link to leave the island.

Marin didn't want him to leave. She had grown very fond of him in the time they had known each other. But she had realized that he had to. There was a home waiting for him. People who wished for him to come back. And a duty he had to fulfill. Still… the thought of him gone hurt. More than she wanted to admit to anyone.

And not only that…

When the monsters had started appearing, Marin had ventured to the egg and sung the ballad. She wanted for the Wind Fish to wake and drive them away. She had failed, and the Wind Fish had remained asleep. Also, it had been before she had accidentally stumbled upon an ancient ruin in the east of the island. The coast had been clear, so she had ventured inside.

And wished she never had.

The relief she had found inside had toppled everything she had believed. The island – a mere dream of the Wind Fish? How could that be? For the three days afterwards, she had been unable to get out of bed, so distraught had she been. It didn't really matter if she knew whether the words were true or not. Nor did it matter that she had been apparently right all along in that there had to be more than just Coholint. When Link had come back from one of his expeditions, judging by his reactions and his mood, he too must have found the mural. Yet, he had told nobody in the village about it. Perhaps, with his good heart, he had not wanted to cause anyone suffering by questioning their entire existence.

For her, of course, it had been too late.

Now she was here. Singing with all her heart and all her soul. Singing like she had never sung before. Prayed for the Wind Fish to finally wake. Prayed for Link to overcome whatever final challenge awaited him. Prayed for a gentle fate for the island and its inhabitants, whatever may happen once the Wind Fish woke.

She didn't want to fade into nothingness. She didn't want this life of hers, still so young, already to end. But at least… at least she was going to stay alive in Link's heart. As long as he remembered her, she wouldn't truly be gone. And it would prove that she had indeed existed, dream or not.

Marin knew that Link had succeeded the moment the strange sensation overcame her. It was as if she grew ever lighter and lighter, until she weighed nothing anymore. And around her, everything began to fade, slowly turning transparent until it was gone. It didn't hurt. And that was good. She was even somehow happy that Link had succeeded where she had failed.

Still she sang on. One last ode to the Wind Fish. One last song for the home she loved. She sang until only the song remained in her mind. Until she too was gone and there was nothing.

Or… was there? Didn't she smell salt? And didn't she hear the cry of seagulls?


End file.
